Nik exhales like he’s been hit twice. “Yeah, I deserved that. We good?”
Axel offers a hand. They fist bump and do that man-hug-slash-back-pat combo like that’s all it takes to forgive and forget.
Apparently, it is.
Nik and I exchange gifts first. I’m practically bouncing as I watch him peel away the wrapping paper and reveal the braided leather bracelet in black and deep blue with stainless steel accents.
“Carolina!” His eyes light up. “I love it.”
“Yeah? I noticed you always wear jewelry. It seemed like your style.” My gaze flicks to the rings on his fingers, and he lifts his wrist.
“Help me put it on?”
I fasten the magnetic clasp for him, and he rewards me with a kiss.
Nik’s gift to me is bigger than I expected, and I immediately start to worry he went overboard. When I remove the paper, I find a hand-crafted wooden chest, about the size of a shoebox. It’s stained a rich chestnut and finished smooth, with two antique-style metal clasps on the front.
“Open it,” he says softly.
I pop the latches and lift the lid. On the inside is a delicateengraving in neat cursive:Carolinawith a small heart.
“I made it for you. It’s a keepsake box,” he says, suddenly shy.
“You made this?” My breath catches. “Nikolai, it’s incredible!” I wrap my arms around him. “I didn’t know you were this talented!”
“It was my final woodworking project. Our teacher let me use the laser engraver for your name. I’ve made a few small things before, but I’ve been thinking about trying furniture someday. Bigger pieces.”
“You should. You’ve got the skill,” Axel says, sounding genuinely impressed.
Nik sits up a little straighter at our praise. It warms something in me to know he values our support.
Next, Axel opens his fine liner pens and practically beams. “I was running low on a few of these,” he says, already testing them out on the back of the gift tag. “This is perfect.”
Then he opens the smaller box, and I immediately start to panic.
“That one’s kind of a gag gift,” I ramble. “You don’t have to use it. If it’s too dumb or you hate it, I promise I won’t be offended. You can toss it in a drawer or—”
“Princess?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up and let me open my present.”
“Right.”
He finally tears through the wrapping and reads the quote aloud:‘You know you love me, XOXO.’
“Gossip Girl?!” he gasps. “Princess! I’m going to cherish this forever. Where are my keys? I’m putting this on right now and never taking it off.”
He bolts through the bathroom into his room, and a moment later reappears triumphantly, keys in hand, the keychain already attached.
“It’s perfect.”
Axel hands me a rectangular box, neatly wrapped in matte black paper with a red ribbon. I untie it carefully, and inside I find a leather-bound sketchbook. Etched into the cover in small, clean lettering is a single word:Resilient.
“I called you resilient once, remember?” Axel asks quietly.
“Of course I do,” I say, deadpan. “It was right after you almost fucked things up between us.”
